Sun visor assembly having a rounded edge

ABSTRACT

A sun visor assembly having a rounded member partially defining the outer edge of the sun visor which forms a more user-friendly edge than existing sun visor designs. The sun visor is formed from a substantially flat foundation that is folded unto itself thereby forming two foundation halves. The halves have corresponding shapes that define the edge of the sun visor. An upholstery cover covers the foundation and forms an exterior surface of the sun visor. A bead member is attached to the foundation and includes a stem portion that attaches to the foundation. The bead member also includes the rounded member whose surface forms a substantially semicircular cross section which faces away from the sun visor. In one embodiment, the rounded member is integrally formed with the foundation, itself, and this embodiment therefore does not include an additional bead member.

This application is a divisional of U.S. Ser. No. 09/515,315 filed onFeb. 29, 2000, U.S. Pat. No. 6,302,467, that claims priority under 35U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 60/122,298filed Mar. 1, 1999.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to sun visors for vehicles, and,in particular, to the shape of the edge of the sun visor.

Over the past several decades, automobile designs have become safer inmany respects, one of which relates to the interior compartment thedriver and passengers occupy. Specifically, the design of dash boards,steering wheels, handles, control knobs and other interior componentshas become smoother and softer. Generally speaking, hard, protrudingsurfaces have been replaced with softer, rounded surfaces whereverpossible. One interior component which has undergone such improvementsis the sun visor.

One sunvisor design is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,580,118 (Crotty,III), owned by the assignee of the present invention and herebyincorporated by reference. The design disclosed in the ′118 patentinvolves an outer cover assembly which folds unto itself and sandwichesa core member therebetween. The exterior cover assembly is made of acloth or vinyl upholstery covering, which is adhesively bonded to asemi-rigid foundation, typically formed of kraft paper. The upholsterycover is made larger than the foundation and thereby folds around theedges of the foundation. Thus, when the sun visor is folded in half, theouter edges of the cover assembly are sandwiched together and define theprofile of the sun visor. The core member is disposed between thefoundation halves and connects to a rod, which in turn connects to theinterior headliner of the vehicle.

It is desirable to improve upon the above-referenced design.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a sun visor having a rounded member thatpartially defines the outer periphery of the sun visor. The roundedmember avoids the undesirable bifurcated shape of the edge formed whentwo cover halves of a foldable foundation are sandwiched together, asoccurs in prior art sun visors.

The basic design of sun visor as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,580,118has certain advantages in terms of production costs, functionality andreliability. Moreover, the design disclosed in the '118 patent hasgained a solid reputation throughout the automotive industry. However,international authorities have recently promulgated regulations whichimpose design constraints on sun visors. One particular restrictionrequires the contactable edges of non-rigid parts to have a radius ofnot less than 3.2 mm. Such a requirement poses a design problem with thetype of sun visor disclosed in the '118 patent, which problem isaddressed by the present invention.

In one form thereof, the present invention provides a sun visor assemblycomprising a substantially flat foundation folded unto itself therebyforming two foundation halves. The halves have corresponding shapes thatdefine an edge of the sun visor. An upholstery cover covers thefoundation and forms an exterior surface of the sun visor. A bead memberis attached to the foundation and is positioned proximate the edge, thebead member comprising a rounded member whose surface comprises asubstantially semicircular cross section. The surface faces away fromthe sun visor, whereby the edge comprises a radius.

In a preferred form thereof, the bead member further comprises a stemmember extending from the rounded member, the stem member having asubstantially flat surface disposed adjacent one of the halves andconnected thereto. The stem member comprises a stake extendingtherefrom, the stake extending through the one half and heat fusedthereto, whereby the stake secures the bead member to the foundation.

In another preferred form, the stem member comprises a pair of stemmembers, a first one of the pair abutting the first half and a secondone of the pair abutting the second half. More preferably, the first andsaid second ones of the pair of stem members abut outside surfaces ofthe foundation halves.

In another preferred form, the rounded member has a radius of at least3.2 mm, more preferably at least 3.5 mm.

The advantage of the present invention is that it provides a sun visorhaving a rounded periphery which is safer for the occupant of thevehicle.

Another advantage of the present invention is that its design iscompatible with prior art sun visor designs and manufacturing processes.Thus, the sun visor provided by the present invention is cost effectiveto produce.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The advantages and objects of this invention and the manner of attainingthem, will become more apparent and the invention itself will be betterunderstood by reference to the following description of embodiments ofthe invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings,wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a prior art sunvisor;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view partially broken away of a sunvisor inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2a is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the portionindicated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along lines 3—3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the portion of thesunvisor indicated in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the core member of one disclosed embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a core member of a second disclosed embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a second embodiment incorporating thepresent invention shown with parts of the cover assembly broken away;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the sun visor ofFIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the sun visor of FIGS. 7 and 8;

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of a third embodimentincorporating the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the visor of FIG. 10, shown with onlypart of the cover folded over the edge of the foundation layer toillustrate the heat stake technology, and is shown with only some of thestakes being “fused” to the foundation;

FIGS. 12a and 12 b are fragmentary sectional views illustrating a heatstake embodied by the present invention, before and after fusion,respectively;

FIG. 13 is a sectional view of the visor shown in FIGS. 11 and 12; and

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the visor shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 andis shown partly in section to illustrate the bead member sectionsembodying the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a sectional view of a fourth embodiment of the presentinvention, wherein the foundation layer includes an integrally formedradius edge; FIG. 15a is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating analternate mating engagement between the peripheral portions which definethe rounded edge of the sun visor;

FIG. 16 is a plan view of a bottom die used to form the radius edge onthe foundation of the sun visor assembly shown in FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a plan view of a top die used to form the radius edge on thefoundation of the sun visor assembly shown in FIG. 15; and

FIG. 18 is a cross sectional view exploded away which depicts theformation of the radius in the foundation of the sun visor assemblyusing the dies shown in FIGS. 16 and 17.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding partsthroughout the several views. Although the drawings representembodiments of the invention, the drawings are not necessarily to scaleand certain features may be exaggerated or omitted in order to betterillustrate and explain the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIG. 1, prior art sun visor 10 includes outer shellassembly 12. The shell is typically formed of a rigid or semi-rigidfoundation (not shown) having an upholstery material adhesively bondedthereto. The cover assembly folds unto itself and a core member whichattaches to rod 14 is disposed therebetween. Edge 16, which partiallydefines the periphery of the sun visor, is somewhat undesirable becauseit is not round. Instead, edge 16 is formed of two corresponding edgesof outer assembly 12 which are sewn or adhesively bonded together. Adesign similar to that shown in FIG. 1 is disclosed and described inU.S. Pat. No. 5,580,118, which is hereby incorporated by reference.

FIG. 2 depicts an embodiment in accordance with the present invention.Sunvisor assembly 20 includes an outer shell assembly 22 which is madeup of upholstery cover 24 overlaying and adhesively bonded to foundation26 as can be better seen in FIGS. 2a and 3. Foundation 26 is asubstantially flat and is folded unto itself thereby forming twofoundation halves 30. Halves 30 have corresponding shapes that definethe edge 29 of sun visor assembly 20.

Upholstery cover 24 is larger than foundation 26 so that upholstery 24can be folded around the edges of foundation 26, whereby foundation 26is totally covered by upholstery 24. Cover assembly 22 can be foldedunto itself into two halves 30. Core member 28 is disposed between twohalves 30, and is substantially covered by cover assembly 22. Coremember 28 further includes a bead member 31 integrally formed at theperiphery of core member 28. Bead member 31 includes a stem member 32,which is shown in FIG. 2 as a substantially flat rectangular portion ofcore member 28 formed about the outer periphery thereof. As shown inFIGS. 2a and 3, core member 28 is sandwiched between halves 30 of outershell 22.

Advantageously, bead member 31 includes rounded member 34 integrallyformed therewith. As shown in FIGS. 2A and 3, stem member 32 terminatessubstantially in the middle of flat portion 36 of rounded member 34.Corresponding edges 46 (FIG. 4) of cover assembly 22 are positionedadjacent flat portion 36. More particularly, flat portion 34 abutsupholstery material 24 of cover assembly 22 whereas the surface ofrounded member 34 faces away from sunvisor assembly 20. As shown in FIG.2, rounded member 34 partially defines the outer edge of sun visorassembly 20, thereby forming a smooth periphery. By contrast, in a priorart sunvisor such as that shown in FIG. 1, the edges of the coverassembly are joined together to form a somewhat flat, bifurcated edge 16as shown in FIG. 1. Advantageously, externally disposed rounded member34 eliminates prior art edge 16. It can thus be appreciated that roundedmember 34 forms a smoother peripheral surface than the prior art sunvisor shown in FIG. 1.

The manner of making sun visor assembly 20 is known in the art andtherefore need not be described in detail herein. For example, U.S. Pat.No. 5,580,118, owned by the assignee of the present application andhereby incorporated by reference, discloses a sun visor having afoldable outer cover assembly and a core member covered by the coverassembly.

Rounded member 34 can be used with various sunvisor/core memberconfigurations. For example, FIG. 5 illustrates core member 28 havingreinforcing ribs 38, stem member 32 and rounded member 34. Hinge block40 is attached to core member 28 and receives rod 14 which is adapted toattach to a vehicle headliner (not shown). In the embodiment shown inFIG. 5, hinge block 40 can rotate about rod 14 but cannot slide relativethereto. A hinge block 40 like that shown in FIG. 5 is disclosed inpending application Ser. No. 09/145,929, filed Sep. 3, 1998, which isowned by the assignee of the present invention and is herebyincorporated by reference.

FIG. 6 illustrates inventive features of the present invention used withinventive features disclosed in pending application Ser. No. No.09/145,929. Core member 28 includes cylindrical rail 42 which slideswithin projecting arms 44 of hinge block 40. Thus, core member 28 canslide relative to hinge block 40 and rod 14 as shown in FIG. 6.

Outer assembly 22 can be made from any number of upholstery andfoundation materials. For example, in pending U.S. application Ser. No.09/168,045, filed Oct. 7, 1998, which is owned by the assignee of thepresent invention and is hereby incorporated by reference, discloses afoundation material of expanded polypropylene (EPP) to which the covermaterial is bonded. Core member 28, such as that shown in either FIGS. 5or 6, including rounded member 34 would perform suitably well with theEPP foundation and sunvisor disclosed in application Ser. No.09/168,045.

Turning now to FIGS. 7-9, sun visor assembly 100 represents a secondembodiment incorporating the present invention. Visor assembly 100includes a substantially flat foundation 102 folded unto itself therebyforming two foundation halves 104 and 106 (FIG. 9). Halves 104 and 106have corresponding shapes that define edge 108 of said visor assembly100. Foundation layer 102 is typically formed of kraft paper, as iswell-known in the art. An upholstery cover 110 covers foundation layer102 and forms an exterior surface of visor assembly 100.

A bead member 112 is attached to foundation 102 and is positionedproximate edge 108. Referring to FIG. 9, it can be appreciated that beadmember 112 is actually formed of two substantially identical integrallyformed bead member sections 114 and 116. Section 114 includes a stem 118abutting foundation half 104 and section 116 includes a stem 120abutting half 106. With further reference to FIG. 9, each of thesections 114 and 116 includes a square groove 122 which receives an edgeof foundation 102 by means of a friction fit, which secures bead membersections 114 and to the foundation.

As can be further appreciated from FIG. 9, bead member sections 114 and116 are formed with substantially symmetrical bulbous portions 124 and126, respectively. Bulbous portions 124 and 126 are aligned with andpressed against one another and together define a rounded member 128.That is, instead of a unitary rounded member 34 as described withreference to FIGS. 1-6, rounded member 128 is formed from the twoseparate bulbous portions 124 and 126. Cover 110 envelops bulbousportions 124 and 126 and bulbous portions 124 and 126 sandwich cover 110therebetween. As can be appreciated with reference to FIG. 9, thesurface of rounded member 128 is of substantially semicircular crosssection which faces away from the sun visor, such that the edge of thesun visor forms a radius. It is to be understood, for purposes of thisspecification, that the term “semicircular” is to be construed broadlyto include a surface substantially resembling an arc. For example,rounded member 128 is formed from two discrete bulbous portions 114 and116, and cover 110 is disposed between bulbous portions 114 and 116. Yetbulbous portions 114 and 116 combine to form a surface having asemicircular cross section as that term is defined in thisspecification.

Adhesive applied around the inside periphery of the cover or other meansknown in the art can be employed to adhere the cover to the remainder ofthe visor assembly. The same or additional adhesive can be employed toadhere the two halves of the “clam-shell” visor together, therebymaintaining the sun visor in the assembled configuration shown in FIG.9.

In the design shown in FIG. 9, the assembly is performed as isconventionally known, except that it includes the additional step ofsecuring the bead member sections 114 and 116 to foundation halves 104and 106, respectively, before cover 110 is attached to foundation 102.

Turning now to FIGS. 10-14, sun visor assembly 200 represents a thirdembodiment incorporating the present invention. Visor assembly 200includes a substantially flat foundation 202 folded unto itself therebyforming two foundation halves 204 and 206 (shown unfolded in FIGS. 10and 11). Halves 204 and 206 have corresponding shapes that, when foldedtogether, define edge 208 (FIG. 14) of visor assembly 200. Foundationlayer 202 is typically formed of kraft paper, as is well-known in theart. An upholstery cover 210 covers foundation layer 202 and forms anexterior surface of visor assembly 200. Cutouts 211 and 213 are formedin foundation 202 to accommodate a vanity mirror and a clip assembly,respectively, as is known in the art.

Again referring to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 10-14, it can beappreciated that two substantially identical integrally formed beadmember sections 214 and 216 are pressed together to form a bead member212 (FIGS. 13 and 14) that partially defines the edge 208 of sun visor200. With further reference to FIGS. 13 and 14, section 214 includes astem 218 abutting the outside of foundation half 204 and section 216includes a stem 220 abutting half 206. By contrast, stems 118 and 120 ofthe second embodiment, described hereinabove with reference to FIGS.7-9, abut the inside of foundation halves 104 and 106, respectively. Asshown in FIGS. 10 and 11, both of bead member sections 214 and 216include a cutout 215 so that the rounded flap portion of the visor canbe bent along crease lines 217 (FIG. 11).

With further reference to FIGS. 10-14, and particularly FIGS. 12a and 12b, stems 218 and 220 of bead member sections 214 and 216, respectively,include a plurality of stakes 222 extending therefrom. Stakes 220 fitthrough corresponding apertures 223 (FIG. 10) formed in foundation layer202. FIG. 12a illustrates a stake 222 prior to fusion whereas FIG. 12billustrates a stake 222 after heat has been applied thereto. FIG. 11depicts some of the stakes being heat fused and others prior to heatfusion. As the plastic material, which is preferrably polypropylene orABS plastic, melts during heat staking, it flows downward by the forceof gravity toward the foundation 202 and forms a cap 225 that locks stem220 against foundation 202 and thereby secures the bead member sections214 and 216 to foundation 202. As can be appreciated with reference toFIG. 14, stakes 222 on opposite stems point toward one another, towardthe middle of the sun visor assembly.

The production process of sun visor 200 is substantially the same as isknown in the art, except that it includes the additional step ofsecuring bead member sections 214 and 216 to foundation 202 using heatstake technology before securing cover 210 to the foundation.

As can be further appreciated from FIGS. 13 and 14, bead member sections214 and 216 are formed with substantially symmetrical bulbous portions224 and 226, respectively. Bulbous portions 224 and 226 are aligned withone another and together define a rounded member 228. Cover 210 envelopsbulbous portions 224 and 226 and bulbous portions 224 and 226 sandwichcover 210 therebetween. As can be appreciated with reference to FIGS. 13and 14, the surface of rounded member 228 is of substantiallysemicircular cross section and faces away from the sun visor, such thatthe edge of the sun visor forms a radius. It is preferable that theradius formed by the cross sectional surface of rounded member 228 be atleast 3.2 mm, more preferably at least 3.5 mm.

Adhesive applied around the inside periphery of the cover or other meansknown in the art can be employed to adhere the cover to the remainder ofthe visor assembly. The same or additional adhesive can be employed toadhere the two halves of the “clam-shell” visor together, therebymaintaining the sun visor in the assembled configuration shown in FIGS.13 and 14.

Turning now to FIGS. 15-18, sun visor assembly 300 includes asubstantially flat foundation 302 preferably formed from kraft paper andwhich is folded unto itself, thereby forming foundation halves 304 and306. As in the embodiments disclosed above, sun visor 300 includes anupholstery cover 308 which covers foundation 302 and forms an exteriorsurface of sun visor 300.

As shown in FIG. 15, half 304 and half 306 each include an integrallyformed rounded periphery portion, shown as periphery portions 310 and312, respectively. Portions 310 and 312 “mate” with one another to forma rounded member, or edge 314, whose cross-section is semicircular, asthat term is defined hereinabove. The term “mate,” as used herein, is tobe construed broadly to include variations in the way in which peripheryportions 3 10 and 312 may align with one another in an assembled sunvisor.

For example, in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 15, peripheralportions 310 and 312 have ends 316 and 318, respectively, which face andabut one another and sandwich cover 308 therebetween. However, theperipheral portions may “curl up” to a greater extent than shown in FIG.15, resulting in a configuration like that shown in FIG. 15a.Alternatively, the peripheral portions may overlap (not shown). Oneskilled in the art would readily recognize other variations in the wayin which the separate peripheral portions of visor 300 matingly engageone another, all of which are within the scope of this disclosure. Visor300 can be assembled by first die-cutting foundation 302 to the generalshape of the sun visor as is known in the art, except that thefoundation is formed a bit larger than is conventional to allow for therounded peripheral portions. As a second step, the foundation is placedbetween upper and lower dies, like lower die 320 shown in FIG. 16 andupper die 322 shown in FIG. 17.

While lower die 320 (FIG. 16) is substantially flat, upper die 322includes a radius portion 324 disposed about its outer periphery asshown in FIGS. 17 and 18, which radius forms the rounded periphery ofthe foundation layer when the dies are pressed together. As shown inFIG. 18, die 322 includes a recess 326 in its center so that lower die320 (which is smaller than upper die 322) is received within recess 326of upper die 322, thereby sandwiching foundation 302 therebetween,forming peripheral portions 310 and 312 of foundation 302. One ofordinary skill in the art would readily recognize other methods andvariations of the method described herein for forming the roundedperipheral edge on foundation 302.

After the rounded peripheral portion is formed, upholstery cover 308 isfolded around the entire periphery of foundation 302 and glued tofoundation 302 using a “hot melt” glue, such as “M2178W Polyester HotGlue” available from the Findlay company. Next, the necessary holes forthe vanity mirror, retention clip, etc. are punched. The upholsterycover is “after cut” to conform to the holes and glued to the foundationas is known in the art. Next, the accessories, such as the vanity mirrorand retention clip, are snapped into the respective holes formedtherefor. The interior components of the sun visor, such as the rail andcore member are then placed between the two halves, and the foundationis sealed together. This final seal is accomplished by applying asecondary glue around the interior edge of the foundation and holdingthe two halves together until the glue has cured. One such secondaryglue suitable for practicing the present invention is “Plio Grip 7400Urethane Resin,” available from Ashland Chemical Corporation.

It can now be appreciated that the design disclosed hereinabove is fullycompatible with existing sun visor designs and is especially compatiblewith a sunvisor which includes a cover assembly having a kraft paperfoundation which folds unto itself. Such a sunvisor design is economicalto produce and has been popular for years in many vehicle makes andmodels.

It will be appreciated that the foregoing is presented by way ofillustration only, and not by way of any limitation, and that variousalternatives and modifications may be made to the illustrated embodimentwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimedhereinbelow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A sun visor assembly, comprising: a substantiallyflat foundation folded unto itself thereby forming two foundationhalves; an upholstery cover covering said foundation and forming anexterior surface of said sun visor; and a pair of bead members, saidbead members comprising a rounded periphery portion capable of matingwith one another to form an edge of said sun visor whose surfacecomprises a substantially semicircular cross-section, said surfacefacing away from said sun visor.
 2. The sun visor assembly of claims 1,wherein said bead members are integrally formed with said foundation. 3.The sun visor assembly of claim 1, wherein said semicircular crosssection comprises a radius of at least 3.2 mm.
 4. The sun visor assemblyof claim 1, wherein said cover covers said surface and extends betweensaid mating periphery portions.